Method of destroying vegetable matter in pipes



Patented Mar. 26, 1946 TTEBIN PIPES Arnold Chester Ripley, Windsor, Ontario, Canada No Drawing. Application March 26, 1945, Serial Canada No. 585,004. In

August 28, 1944 2 Claims- (Cl. 134-22) This invention relates to a method or destroying sewer roots and the like and to a composition of matter to be used therefor.

In use, the composition must be placed in sewer vent pipe or breather pipe. and followed immedi- The composition dissolves in water, and when poured intovthe sewer, destroys the roots, thereby cleaning the sewer passage.

Prior to this invention the methods used to accomplish a partial cleaning of root blocked sewers, have been mechanical.

The ordinary sewer'constru'ction from the main street sewer to the building normally is a crock 24 inches in length, generally ranging in diameter from 6 inches up, being joined by a hub at one end and hub being sealed with Portland cement.

The moisture from a sewer will attract the roots of any nearby tree. Such roots will go down to a sewer quite readily in the loosened dirt replaced in a trench after a sewer installation. Penetration through the porous cement or between the crock hub and cement causes approximately 90'% of sewer stoppages occurring between the main trap or sewer vent, and the street sewer. The process of removalin the past required the physical digging up of the sewer and removing the roots, or the us of a mechanical root cutter which will cut the roots leaving the stubs to continue to catch sewerage passing through the sewer and to grow again.

It has been proven that root stoppage can be removed by the use of the chemical herein described.

By placing this mixture into the sewer through the breather pipe at the main trap, it will dissolve in the water and sewerage in the blocked drain. Being heavier than water it will work its way down the sewer, attacking the roots where they enter the sewer, burning and dissolving the roots, allowing a clear passage for the sewerage. This saves the necessity and expense of di g the sewer for cleaning and removing .the roots,

, which necessitates the destruction of many a lawn, requiring time and expense to replace.

This chemical has cleared all the sewer stoppages caused by tree roots in cases where this chemical has been used. It has not failed in any test. From use in twenty-four sewer stoppages, fourteen were cleared with one charge of the chemical, five were cleared with two charges, three were cleared with three charges, two were cleared with four charges, depending on the amount of obstruction in the sewer and the disately by several gallons of hot water, in order to hasten the dissolving of the chemical and increasing its effectiveness.

The ingredients constituting the composition, and the Preferred approximate relative quantities thereof, are the following:

Pounds Caustic soda in flake fonn..- 100 Copper sulphate in cmtal torm 8 Ammonium sulphate in powdered form b all thoroughly mixed together.

The composition is dumped into the sewer,

conveniently into the sewer vent opening or closed opening to the part of the sewer believed to be plugged or obstructed. Immediately following the dumping of the compomtion. several l- 10 ions of hot water are poured into the sewer,

to hasten the dissolving of the composition.

Experience will dictate the quantity of the composition which should be used in each case, the

quantity required'being mostly a function of the a mass of the obstructing matter, the nature and characteristics of such matter, the diameter of the pipe 50 obstructed, to some extent the slope of the pipe, but to the greatest extent, the site of the obstruction from the point of ingress of the composition.

SI between the site of the obstruction and the point of ingress. In the case of a 6 inch pipe, for instance, approximately 1% to 3 poimds of the composition will be required for each 12 linear inches of pipe intervening between the site of the oh- 0 struction and the point oi. ingress. My experitl'of 25 to 100 pounds per stoppage, requiring beence has also shown that in the case of thirty sewers cleaned by the use of my composition, with varying distances between the obstruction and point of ingress, cleaning was eiiected by the use tween 3 to 24 hours.

Usually the site of the obstruction may be fairly correctly guessed by taking into consideration the size and distance of the nearest tree.

50 What I claim is:

tance" to the --main sewer. There is nodamage to either cast iron or crock sewer pipe from the use of this composition. Y

I vegetablematter, a quantity ot a. mixture of caus- 1. The method of cleaning obstructions in a pipe caused by the presence of vegetable matter, which consists "in introducing into thepipe, to be dissolved into the sewerage and attack the tic sodaL, co1oper sulphate arid ammonium-sulphate in the approximate relative proportions of 1001bs.,'8 lbs. and V 1b., respectively.

2. The'method or cleaning obstructions in a.

pipecaused by the presence or vegetable matter, which consists in first introducing into the pipe a, quantity of a mixture of caustic ewe, copper sulphate end ammonium sulphate 1n the approximate relative proportions of 100 1bs., 8 lbs.

ARNOLD cnmsm RELEY. 

